sweet, again

S and I have a little tradition when we play our favorite matching game. Whenever one of us turns over the bear on a bicycle card, we both do a little freak-out and holler "Bear on a Bicycle!" And of course whoever finds the match does a mini dance. I've got no idea why we do this. Maybe just because we love the illustration so much.

So when Heather Ross told me that Melissa Sweet, the illustrator of our beloved game, would be attending Heather's Weekend Sewing retreat last weekend, I did a larger version of my mini freak-out. I love Melissa's work, and she would be there in person, sewing with us! (And not only was she sewing with us, she was even making up my Lisette Passport Jacket.)

So that was fun. But what we even more fun was learning that Melissa has just published a new children's book, Balloons Over Broadway, which is a story about the man who made the very first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

As it happens, we were having dinner just around the corner from Macy's one night during the workshop, so a few of us dropped in afterwards to see if we could find the poster and the Macy's shopping bags (!) featuring Melissa's illustrations.

It wasn't an entirely fruitful search. No sign of the shopping bags, but we located a poster before returning to the sewing lab for the evening. I'll go back in a week or so to see if I can find the shopping bags.

S was beyond thrilled to get a signed copy of the book, and she spent yesterday afternoon and evening (parent-teacher conferences--half day of school) happily working away on the fantastic activity pages that Melissa and her publisher assembled. They're amazing! S spent loads of time designing her own Thanksgiving Day balloon, assembling a balloon hat (it turns out she moves quite well like a balloon when she's wearing her hat, thank you very much), and finding the best parade route through the maze. She was busy taping together the finger puppets while I assembled the adorable finger puppet storage box (I'll be making another one for myself, I love it so much). The activities are brilliant and would be a wonderful way to keep excited kids busy while they're awaiting Thanksgiving dinner.

By the way, Melissa will be on The Martha Stewart Show later this week demonstrating what Heather says is "the best project" she's seen for kids in a long time. Guess what we'll be doing on Thanksgiving Day before dinner?

Sweet.

(All these images are from Melissa's website. She's got a great blog, too!)

textile jewelry

Last winter S and I were messing around with various fibers and made ourselves some jewelry. I finally remembered to photograph it so I can show you.

S went on a mad finger-knitting binge and swore she would make a scarf for everyone (19!) in her class as well as a lengthy list of additional friends who needed them (according to her--and I'm sure all our corporate-world friends would, indeed, have been very appreciative). Fortunately, she got distracted around necklace number eleven before I ran out of yarn, but I got to pick out the yarn for my own and specified that I wanted a necklace instead of a scarf. So my commission resulted in this fabulous piece made with an Amy Butler yarn. I combined her little masterpiece (yes, I really do wear it) with a scrap of Nani Iro double gauze sewn into a tube, stuffed with a little cotton, and tied with embroidery floss every so often to define the "beads" in the necklace. Someone showed how to do this in a blog a while ago and I can't remember who--can anyone refer us?




I also bought some of this crazy knit collage yarn at Purl and strung it with felted beads to make this necklace. S has a similar one with handmade felt beads (it takes about 15 minutes to make each bead, and I only had time to make enough beads for one necklace before I ended up buying the rest. Someday when I have more time...). As we strung the beads (you'll need a tapestry needle, strong fingers, and a lot of patience), I looped the yarn around my neck and arranged the beads and yarn lengths to my liking. Then I tied all the loops together at the back to hold them in place. It's easy to wear since I just slip it over my head (made sure it's long enough!) and it's lightweight.

Here it is on Pedal at the studio. It's a bit long on her, but I've had enough with modelling for a while.

We've got ideas for a few more textile necklaces when we have time. The felt beads are fun to play with, but S is very busy with play dates before school starts again, and she doesn't have time for crafting at present.

April flowers

Headed from one meeting to another early this morning, I had the pleasure of taking a shortcut through Central Park. I saw a pair of cardinals, robins hunting for worms, loads of flowers, and even the boat pond is open--which is great because Tsia and I have our wooden toy sailboats at the ready and have been toting them along every Sunday morning in the hopes that we'll get to launch them. At last, we can!

Sadly, all the real daffodils are finished blooming for the year, but I've been playing around with making them out of construction paper, just to make them last a little bit longer. Also some primroses--or my rendition of a primrose, anyway.


They're quite easy to make, and I got the idea from some simple paper flowers that Tsia's class made in art class. The cutting and gluing of this fancier (and smaller) version are a bit fussy for little hands, so they're more of an adult paper craft, but patient and dexterous kids could certainly make a go of them.

Here is a quick and dirty template of the shapes I used, with dotted lines to indicate folds. I think you can probably figure out how to do it yourself, right? Especially with a few photos to help:






Happy spring!

little designers

This morning it was my turn to talk about my job at Tsia's school, so we talked about clothing.

The kids were very excited to show what they were wearing and to discuss design details. This week at school they're celebrating spirit week with pajama day, backwards and upside-down day, and crazy hair day. Today was cultural heritage day, so one little girl was wearing a Flamenco dress and another was wearing a kimono. We discussed collars, ruffles, stripes, buttons, and pockets. I showed everyone my sketchbook so they could see my first sketch of the Jump Rope Dress, a sample of which Tsia was modelling.




Then we all got busy drawing. I gave everyone basic garment shapes outlined in dotted lines on a sheet of white paper. From there, they all went different directions. The boys designed lots of clothing with spider webs:


Some of the children really enjoyed adding details:

And others added color:




I was amazed at a few of the designs. One little girl who wears a lot of color had some spectacularly vibrant and detailed designs that fit her personality and style perfectly. Two of the children wanted to give me their drawings so I could go home and sew their designs for them. I was sorry to explain that we were just drawing this time, not sewing. And several of the children started cutting out the clothing and making paper dolls for themselves!

If you know anyone who would like to make some designs for him/herself, here is a pdf of the clothing silhouettes we used. Have fun!

functioning, barely

I got nailed by the flu last week and am still under the weather six days later, so not much of anything has been done around here recently. However, Tsia and I were making a few final Valentines yesterday afternoon and accidentally discovered how much fun it is to watercolor paint on paper doilies.


I'm not sure what we'll do with these, but for now I'm just enjoying looking at them. Especially since that's about all the energy I have these days.

valentines

We took our Valentine's Day preparation cues from Brooke this year and wrapped matchboxes with decorative papers. The inside of each box is also lined with a little piece of colored paper onto which Tsia wrote a personal message for each recipient. She really enjoyed this project, and it took use most of a Sunday afternoon but was very easy to do.


We hand selected the Jelly Bellies to fit our color palette, as we are wont to do, from Economy Candy.



Brooke just mentioned that her idea has also been featured at Brides.com including a pdf for the patterned paper she used.

post

My friend Michelle has been doing a lot of letterpress printing for some of her recent art projects, and she clued me in to these fantastic deckle-edge cards by Fabriano. They're inexpensive and support all sorts of media gracefully. Tsia and I have been using them to make our own Thank You cards with watercolor, pen and ink, and whatever else we have on hand. I love the texture and weight of the paper. It feels very luxurious.



I should point out that the cards are a rather unusual size, and it isn't easy to find matching envelopes. Believe me, I tried. I thought I'd find some fun colors to pair them with, but it wasn't meant to be, despite trying our fantastic local paper and envelope supply shop. So the coordinating envelopes are well worth the additional cost. Just keep that in mind...

and speaking of books

I'm so excited about this event! We don't get to get together as often as we'd like, but in just a few weeks not only will Heather, Denyse, and I get the chance to hang out in one of my favorite places, but we'd like you to join us:

The wardrobe opportunities for this event, thanks to Heather's amazing poster design, are potentially endless. What to wear, what to wear...

book week: creative coloring

It's past time for another book week, isn't it? I've been saving up all sorts of good ones to show you, especially since the holidays are arriving. It's nice to have a few ideas for giving and receiving, I think, so I'll show you some favorites, new and old, over the next week (or so).


Like a lot of parents these days, I'm not very keen on the traditional coloring book. Rather than color someone else's artwork, I prefer to encourage Tsia to do her own drawings. But we all need a little inspiration sometimes, and Tsia and I are both excited about the Doogles book by Taro Gomi, which acts as sort of a springboard drawing and coloring book that expands on the idea of a coloring book and makes it much more fun. Instead of coloring inside the lines, each page gives a suggestion for the start of a project and lets you take the creativity from there. For example, you can draw silly faces:


Or decide what to feed some crocodiles:


And I especially like this sort of page, which demonstrates to children that you can make your own patterns and embellishments within the basic framework that's been given (in other words, it doesn't all have to be one color!):

But you're not limited to pages with drawings already in place. Use your imagination to decide what (or who) is making this noise:



Tsia and I are looking forward to doing some of the collaborative projects in which, for example, two people can each decorate a fish on neighboring pages. The fish are drawn with just a simple outline so we might use glitter or yarn to decorate them once we've done a little drawing and coloring.

Near the back of this enormous book book (it's more than 350 pages thick!) is a short story to be illustrated. And at the very back are blank pages with suggestions like "Draw a pair of uncomfortably pointy boots." (Oh, I think I might have those in my closet already!)

Once you've worked your way through the entire book (and that should take you a while, with all those pages), there are several more by the same author that build on this concept. Tsia and I had a difficult time choosing one book, they're all so inspiring.

We've been giving this book to Tsia's friends when we're invited to birthday parties. I frequently stock up on items like this so we don't need to go running off in search of a last-minute gift, and I like this book because it appeals to boys and girls and to a variety of ages.

If you're looking for other creative books for older children who might be interested in making things with their hands, I still love the Girls' Best Book. In just a couple of years I think Tsia and her friends will be ready and I'll start stockpiling it for gifts, too.

mini gardens

I had a little moss left over from a recent project (long story--I'll tell you sometime later) and remembered this tutorial on Design Sponge about making terrariums using found items. Can I tell you how much fun this was? I wish I had been a little more organized; I would have collected wide-mouthed jars and taken the materials to Tsia's school. The kids would have loved to make them!



Right now the teacup and two Mason jar terrariums are living on our dining room table; they make great centerpieces. I'm still looking for little seedlings to add a bit of height and variety, but that may need to wait until next spring when baby plants are alive again (assuming the terrariums survive that long). Even if they don't survive the winter (or my really sorry lack of plant-keeping skills), I'm noticing lots of moss in the cracks of the sidewalks. Maybe Tsia and I will plant more terrariums together next spring.

icey cold icepack

The sports doctor told me about this a while ago. I think it's just about the coolest thing ever: a fantastic slushy-consistency ice pack for bumps and bruises.

And now that it's summer, there are bound to be a few of those here and there.


I like this better than the ones available for sale because the slushy consistency lets it contour around an injury. And there are only two ingredients, one of which comes out of your faucet.

Large bag:

2 cups of rubbing alcohol and 6 cups of water in a one-gallon zip-lock bag. Freeze. This is great for knees, backs, and large injuries.

Small bag:

3/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and 2 cups of water in a one-quart zip-lock bag. This size is great for hands, elbows, and child-sized injuries.


A few hints:

Don't put a lot of pressure on the ice pack. After all, zip-lock bags are only so strong before they pop open! I double-bag ours, just to be sure. Also, it helps to push all the air out of the bag before you seal it.

Put a layer of fabric or a thin towel between the ice pack and your skin to prevent frostbite. I made this little pillowcase-style flannel cover for ours because I thought it would give the right amount of protection. Tsia is also a lot more interested in using an ice pack if it looks pretty.

Keep the ice pack on the painful area for about 20 minutes to reduce inflammation.

Store the ice pack in your freezer so it's ready for use anytime.

Happy summer!

botanical dreams

I'll probably never have a garden (at least not in Manhattan) and I'm not good about purchasing cut flowers. Honestly, I can't stand it when they die.

So for now I get my botanical kicks from the windows of the amazing florists in our neighborhood. Most of these photos were taken with our pocket camera, so the quality isn't great. But they'll give you a sense of the talented eyes of our local florists.

These photos are from VSF, a florist Tsia and I pass on Sundays:





I pass by my other favorite florist on the way from Tsia's preschool to the studio most mornings. Their space is amazing but probably impossible for me to properly photograph. (Hence the lack of photo here.) Plus, it's a rather conceptual storefront; there aren't actually many flowers in sight. Mostly, I think this is because their business involves large events like weddings and parties rather than filling individual phone orders from folks like me.

The watchcat and flowers below are neighbors of Tinsel Trading in midtown. I thought the outdoor galvanized buckets felt rather Parisian and more trusting than your typical New Yorker:



Trouble is, when I order flowers for my Grandma who lives in a city in the Midwest, I always seem to have arrangements from these florists in the back of my mind. I describe them to the best of my abililies, even going so far as to research the various flowers so I can call them by name. I use words like "haphazard," "random," and "wild" to describe the arrangments. I strictly forbid the use of particular elements that feel too common or "flowery" to me.

But my artfully envisioned ranunculus never live up to the aesthetic heights of my dreams, or to what I see in those windows.

I'll keep sending flowers, but I think I need to put my botanical dreams to rest and restrict my artful floral visions to enjoying what I see in the windows.

telling stories

One of Tsia's teachers is an actor who, one morning a week, works with the kids on their presentation skills. By this I mean that they have Show and Tell, practice introducing themselves and greeting adults, and focus on telling stories and doing little performances.


I wanted to build on what Tsia is learning by helping to work on her narrative skills, so we've been making little books together in our spare time. These aren't elaborate projects, by any means. I make every effort to rein in my designer instincts when we make our books because I want them to be spontaneous and let us concentrate on telling a story rather than getting all fancy in the making of the physical book itself. As she grows older and develops a longer attention span maybe we'll have the opportunity to spend more time on the production and creation of the book. But for now we simply keep a stack of typing paper cut into quarter sheets, and we grab them along with the crayons whenever the mood strikes us.

We've been using two different approaches to our books: For the first one, Tsia dictates and I write. Then she illustrates the page before we progress to the next one. This works pretty well, but I've been noticing that she continues to develop and narrate the story as she's illustrating, so by the time we get to the next page we've somehow missed important elements of the story along the way. I'm finding ways to fill in a bit, but I was hoping to take straight dictation and it feels a little like cheating when I start to help with continuity. Our most recent book felt, Todd told me, like some sort of surrealist tale when actually there was a certain continuity in the story that got lost during its inscription.


The second approach we've tried is a fill-in-the-blank style of narrative, which I've learned works really well when I'm keeping a group of young children entertained at her school. If I tell part of the story and have them fill in missing words, their attention is terrific! The other day we collaborated on a rather long-winded tale about a duck named Duck who put on his swimsuit and went to the park to meet his friend for a picnic. However, as far as the book-writing project goes, this approach lasts for a maximum of two pages before Tsia really gets going and takes off on her own, leaving my sorry narratives behind. So I think she's too old for this approach. But it might work well with younger children who need a little help developing a story.


We use colored card stock for the covers of our simple books, and we've tried several different binding techniques from this book to assemble our finished pages. Most of the time we simply staple or use Japanese bookbinding technique. We haven't really settled on a favorite method yet, and I still want to play around with some of the fancier techniques when she gets older.

Tsia always write our names on the cover--since I guess we're the authors of the book.

I'm excited to see where she'll take this activity as she grows older, and it's rewarding to have a tangible little book at the end of our story-writing sessions. They're a lot of fun to read, and I think they'll be even more fun to look back on over the years. I'm making sure to date them for future reference. Eventually she may have a full library of books to review, from every age of her childhood.

even better than wallpaper

Remember that groovy wallpaper? Well, this is even better.

Mo Willems, the well-known illustrator of many beloved children's books (we adore Knuffle Bunny), painted his dining room with chalkboard paint. Granted, chalkboard walls are best when your dad is as talented with a stick of chalk as Mo, but nonetheless...

handmade cards

We needed to make a bunch of thank you cards today, and Tsia has become so independent in her art-making that I knew any collaborative effort had to be quick and dirty or it would never happen. I cut out basic shapes from fabric scraps, slapped some glue on the back of them, and handed them to her to assemble (with a little help). Quick indeed. Here are the six we completed in short order.


And this is a card my Mom recently sent. I had to look at it several times before it occurred to me that she had made it. And I think it's made from other recycled cards, right Mom? Some of it appears to be hand-stitched to cardstock, which she then stitched to the front of the card and hand-tied the thread ends at the inside to keep it neat. My clever Mom. She's got me looking at fabric and paper bits with a new eye again.


It's been a while since I did any card-making, and I love stitching on paper. I would have had at those butterflies with the sewing machine were it not for the short attention span of my crafting partner. I think it's actually becoming more difficult to collaborate on these projects as she grows older and becomes more independent. But she did tell me that she wants to start using a sewing machine, which has me fantasizing about all sorts of projects we can make together. Something tells me I'd better slow my imagination a bit for this, however.

waaaay back when

You know me, stress, and closets. And trust me, our closets are looking very spiffy these days; January was a crazy month.

I was looking through the bedroom closet the other day for Tsia, who wanted some black paper for a project, when I came across my old design portfolio. I honestly hadn't looked at it in ages--at least seven years--and it was fun to reminisce while re-examining it.

Included in the book was this project from my last school project: the one that got me my first job.

I feel a little weird showing it to you. I mean, it's about ten years old and completely irrelevant to anything at all. But it's an interesting concept for a final project. I'm glad my professors assigned it, and I thought you might enjoy seeing a design-school graduate's portfolio, especially since I had never seen one before I graduated.

The concept was relatively simple: we were told to select a target company or designer and then to design a collection for him/her/them.

I chose Ralph Lauren.

My collection was inspired by two recent trips to Scotland. I love the highlands and traditional Scottish culture: kilts, tartans, Charles Rennie Mackintosh's exquisite architecture and designs, cozy pubs on dark evenings, ageing bed-and-breakfasts, and stopping the car to let sheep to cross the narrow twisty roads as we made our way over the terrain. It all seemed like a great starting point for a fall collection.



The first step of the project involved collecting inspiration, swatching fabrics, and developing rough sketches of our initial designs. These designs were then collected into a book that was included in our portfolios to show our design process (meaning how we approached our designs and our thought process in developing the designs). The project required dozens and dozens of sketches and designs. Once I had a stack of sketches, I scanned and colored them in Photoshop to reflect the fabrics I had chosen for my collection.



The next step was to select our best designs for the portfolio pages themselves. I'm no illustrator, so I feel a little naked showing these to you. But we drew our best designs in greater detail to reflected our (so-called) drawing abilities, demonstrate our design sophistication (meaning, how our designs reflected the look of our target company), and illustrate our color and fabric choices.

And then came my favorite part of the project. We were told to select one element of our collection and highlight it in a separate book that further elaborated on a theme. This was sort of a trend-forecasting project.

I chose kilts.



This project was the most fun because it had the fewest requirements. I work well with restrictions, but I especially enjoyed breaking out and giving this all sorts of attention. The book opens with a brief discussion of kilts and the role they play in fashion.

Then each page featured a landscape photo from a Scotland tourist brochure, and within the spread I attached two vellum pages: one of a garment "flat" (literally, a technical illustration of a garment laid flat, like we show on the back of the Oliver + S pattern envelopes so you can get a better idea of the details of each piece) and an illustration of someone wearing the outfit, theoretically walking a runway. I had so much fun pulling together the various elements of this book.

And guess what? I got the job.

(More photos of the projects here.)